Roy Jansen heads Grant Thornton Advisory in the Dutch Caribbean

Grant Thornton in the Dutch Caribbean has appointed Roy Jansen as Head of its Advisory arm. The Dutchman will be responsible for the firm’s entire advisory portfolio, spanning management consultancy, financial advisory and technology implementation. 

“I am really excited about the opportunity and am looking forward to realize bold ambitions,” said Jansen, who joins the accounting and consulting firm from larger rival Deloitte. At the Big Four firm, Jansen was latterly a Director in the firm’s Risk Advisory practice in the Dutch Caribbean, based in Curaçao. Earlier in his career, he also worked as an entrepreneur, and for Atos Consulting and the Dutch Ministry of Defense.

Commenting on his move, he stated “To clarify my enthusiasm about this step, we need to go back twelve years. My first venture as an entrepreneur was in 2006 when I was still employed by the Dutch Ministry of Defense, I founded a company with one of my best friends that focused on business improvement, coaching and leadership. Since 2011 my main focus has been on Governance, Risk and Compliance related roles with a focus on cybersecurity. In my role at Grant Thornton all this subject matter comes together, so the journey continues.”

With a comprehensive Advisory portfolio under his belt, Jansen foresees a “huge opportunity” to support clients cross-island throughout the Dutch Caribbean. “Our aim is to grow Grant Thornton Advisory to become the go-to advisor for clients in the region. 

With a 160 staff across four offices in the Dutch Caribbean (historically known as the Dutch West Indies), Grant Thornton is one of the largest accountancy and consultancy players in the region, which comprises the islands of Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba. The firm significantly ramped up its presence in the region in August last year when it poached four offices from PwC in Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao and Sint Maarten. Mid-2017 a similar development unfolded in the professional services space when four offices of KPMG – in Antigua, Barbuda, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – exited the network to join BDO. 

Across the Caribbean, Grant Thornton has offices in 13 cities. Commenting on the expansion in the region, Francesca Lagerberg, a leader at Grant Thornton, said: “The Dutch Caribbean is a strategically important market, with significant trade flows into the United States as well as strong business and cultural connections with the Netherlands. There are significant growth opportunities in the territory.”